Joshua 2:1 –
Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
I read this and question why they pointed out Rahab’s profession. Why did they choose her home for refuge? Were they staying there for “other” reasons and she just gave them refuge? I always find these stories interesting because they show God using the most unexpected people to do great things for the Lord. I think the Lord is trying to get us to shake the idea that were a better than someone else in this world. We should be less full or ourselves and more full of God.
Think about it, why would God highlight a profession that there are so many laws written “against” anyway? It’s difficult to understand and I am really not sure I can explain. It seems prostitutes are scattered throughout the Bible to the point where many of the unmarried women presented are in that profession. I believe we need to understand that we are not “above” anyone and therefore need to be humbled before man to ensure we remain humble before God.
Now in reading the chapter what else did you notice? How about how the men escaped from the city and the vow they took with Rahab? They vowed to protect Rahab if she had a “scarlet rope” hanging from the window. Then they escaped from what I presumed was the window to hang the rope from, which was built into the walls. Now if you know the story of Jericho, they Israelites marched around a few times and the walls came tumbling down. Does that mean that the common wall for Rahab’s home was gone? What about the window? How did they tag her home if the wall where the window was is gone? We will have to wait a few chapters, but it will be interesting to see how this is played out.